.243 barrel choice

[kody]

Given that the .243 seems to be the most problematic caliber in the Handi-rifle which barrel type/length seems to be the easiest to develop?   KEN

[Mac11700]

http://www.gboreloaded.com/forums/index.php?action=search2


Follow the link..Type in 243 problems.. hit advance search.. and have only the NEF section checked..It will give you a bunch of pages to read through..

After you read all of that..you'll see that the bulk of the issues with the 243's were because of case sticking and failure to eject the cases..Some of the other issues the older barrels had were bad cut chambers...being very rough..or out of specd..Most of this has been solved with them changing over to extractors..but a few bad chambers still get by their Q/C control..Many..and I do mean many of the problems were caused by people not resizing their brass correctly as well..There is nothing wrong with the majority of 243 barrels out there..It just happened to be a popular caliber..and at t one time the older NEF plant wasn't doing a very good job on producing some of the standard or super light barrels..Also..the super light barrels do heat up quite fast..and can string loads easier than the bull barrels..

The 243 isn't a super easy cartridge to load for in the Handi as what some tend to believe from loading it in a bolt gun....brass does tend to stretch..and if the chamber is on the long side..will stretch a-lot..especially if you plan on loading it for max velocity..this has been a big issue with them in the past..

Watch how you resize your brass..pushing the shoulder back too far..will cause head space issues..and leaving it too long will cause closing problems and stuck cases..Find the ideal resizing size and load combination  you will be amazed with how accurate they can be..

FWIW..my choice is the heavier 24" bull barrels..I've had only these and haven't had any issues with mine..and just got another one to start playing with..

Good Luck

Mac

[Jimbo47]

My first Handi was a .243 in standard contour, and although it wasn't terrible, it wasn't very consistent in it's grouping.   That could have been my newbie approach to Handi's or the fact that I only tried about four different factory loads at the time, and since I didn't reload, it got a little expensive so I moved on to other calibers and was quite pleased, with the results.

I had then read a lot of the negative posts on the .243 and a lot of possitive ones so I left that option open for when the right deal came along.

It did last year, when I found one in the classifieds, and it was a .243 in a 24" Ultra bull barrel. 

I did a little research in the archives on the barrel and some detective work, finding exactly who had owned the barrel previously, and found that it was in fact from a complete new rifle, and had never been parted, so that was in my favor that it could fit my frames.

I also noted that the previous owner had done a lot of ground hog hunting, and he was shooting groups at 100 yards and beyond, and consistently getting groups you could cover with a dime.

I bought that barrel, and it has been my best shooter to date and I have no thoughts of ever selling it!

There are good one's out there!

[wreckhog]

http://www.gboreloaded.com/forums/index.php?action=search2The 243 isn't a super easy cartridge to load for in the Handi as what some tend to believe from loading it in a bolt gun....brass does tend to stretch..and if the chamber is on the long side..will stretch a-lot..especially if you plan on loading it for max velocity..this has been a big issue with them in the past..

Same with 22-250 and probably other high pressure cartridges known to need case trimmimg in most guns. Case life sucks and thus, not a gun to use for high volume shooting. One shot a year at a deer should be good though.